Things are heating up for Christy Clark and the BC liberals in an unusual way as this year's provincial elections get closer. Politikats— a company founded by a UBC alum that makes a line of politically inclined cat scratching posts of global leaders— has created the purr-fect scratching post for Canadian cats who loves BC politics.

“Politikats which mostly focused on world leaders, like Putin, Trump, and Netanyahu, didn’t have to look far from home to find its newest model for cat owners who like to let their felines literally take a swipe at leaders whose policies incite strong opinions,” says founder Jensen.

The one-of-a-kind, handcrafted cat scratching post took over 140 hours to make and will be auctioned off one day before the election— May 8th— with proceeds going to support a grassroots entrepreneurship initiative amongst First Nations youth on Vancouver Island. Christy’s head was hand carved in clay, cast in a mould, and entirely hand painted. Her body was 3D-printed and hand-wrapped in sisal rope. The BC premier stands atop a luxurious, red velvet carpeted base, leaving any cat in the province with an itch in their claws.

Reactions to the one-of-a-kind Christy Clark cat scratching post have been mixed amongst cats from the Capital region with certain kitties administering rubs and cuddles, while others enjoyed a scratching boxing match with the Premier. Fupu, a suave multicoloured cat took their opportunity to ask Christy whether or not he would ever get the opportunity to move out of his basement suite. Ms Clark remained quiet on the subject. Kim Chow an orange feline who’s donation led to the meeting, had nothing but hugs for Ms Clark. Mr Chow the party faithful wanted to remind the Liberal Leader that he had bid on a government construction contract that was perfect for his team.

As reported by the New York Times, Clark’s government has an “unabashedly cozy relationship between private interests and government officials”. While foreigners, corporations, and wealthy individuals are allowed to give freely to all political parties, it turns out that fossil fuel and mining interested are betting nearly exclusively on the BC Liberals. With reports showing that, on average, BC Liberal donors received twice as many contracts from the provincial government than companies that did not donate. “Based on the source of donations, these seem more like investments with expected returns rather than donations from party faithful.” For those paying attention, it makes decisions by BC liberals on industrial projects— such as the Kinder Morgan pipeline—seem suspect. With real estate and development sector leading the pack with 13.3M in donations to the BC Liberals between 2005-2015, it is not difficult to see how donations may influence government policy-making.

Politics is about trying to make things better. Tax cuts to billionaire donors while making higher bills for electricity, car insurance, homes, and healthcare for the rest of British Columbia isn’t most’s idea of making things better. Politikats hopes it’s one of a kind scratching post will encourage people to discuss the issues and show up at the ballots. “A lot can happen in four years, it is important for people living in this beautiful province to have their say in what the future holds. In 2013, only 52 percent of eligible voters turned out. The United States had a 58% turnout in 2016. BC needs to show up.”

Politikats

Inspired by our global leaders, Politikats is here to help get your kitty's claws into our most “beloved” politicians. Our satirical cat scratching poles protest against regimes and governments which deny their citizens of the right to an open and free Internet, censorship, consistent destruction of the environment at the detriment of future generations, corruption and the disregard of human rights. We hope to bring attention to the flaws of our current systems of governance and hold our leaders accountable in a different and fun way.